


snapshots

by calvinahobbes



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2020, Introspection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24267670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calvinahobbes/pseuds/calvinahobbes
Summary: There’s some part of his subconscious where every single moment committed to film has been weighed and vetted for the past ten years. And right now it’s dormant.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 20
Kudos: 99





	snapshots

**Author's Note:**

> I realize the title is inaccurate. I realize this is meaningless and useless. But I wrote it based on a stray thought in one go and that hasn’t happened in a while so now you get to deal with it.

There’s a point where it happens, only Dan doesn’t notice it. It’s not like there’s a moment when Phil presses the side button on his phone and the artificial shutter sound marks the occasion.

It’s all the weirder for the fact that it never used to bother Dan before. Except for one or two very rare occasions, they’ve always consulted each other before putting anything online. Even stupid creepshots they would always vet first. And besides that he trusts Phil. He trusts Phil to know what to show and what not to show.

So he’s making a weird, no doubt very ugly face at Phil across the breakfast table. He’s just said something stupid, or maybe Phil has, and now he has half chewed cereal dripping down his chin onto his crotch. He still pauses to make silly eyes at Phil who laughs and snaps a few photos, the phone loud in the quiet of the flat.

“Wow, Dan, sophisticated!” Phil giggles, glasses slightly askew and hair unfairly good for a second-day quiff.

Dan takes the time to make a couple of extra faces, but before he can reach for the paper towels Phil has reached across and wiped Dan’s chin inexpertly with his hand. His hand which he then proceeds to wipe on his PJ bottoms.

It goes from there, the way it does most mornings, banter and weird innuendo and rock—paper-scissors over the laundry.

So it’s not until later when Dan is sitting in his browsing position on the couch (just a couple more minutes before he goes to his desk and sits down by the Real Official work computer that has Twitter blocked) that he realises: He’s forgotten to worry about Them. There’s some part of his subconscious where every single moment committed to film has been weighed and vetted for the past ten years. And right now it’s dormant. 

Maybe he’s finally starting to live one more aspect of his life a bit more like other people. At least he imagines most other people don’t worry very much about how millions of strangers on the Internet would receive any one photo of them, much less one of them in their raggedy PJs dribbling cereal down their chin. 

The thing is that this isn’t the first impromptu photo session that Dan has been able to just live in and be present for. At some point back there, in this nebulous break he’s been taking from social media, it happened. 

There’s always been private photos and then Dan-and-Phil photos. That isn’t really likely to change. The difference is that he has stopped weighing the moment in his mind even as it’s happening in order to evaluate whether it could be put online or not. Whether or not it would garner “positive engagement”.

Phil is puttering around the ugly upstairs bathroom, humming snippets of one of his laundry songs, and it launches Dan off the couch and around the curve of the wall in one fluid motion.

Phil is bent down in front of the washing machine, wiggling his bum in circles to the melody. This time Dan _is_ conscious about the decision to film, and the fact that this is definitely (probably, most likely) a private moment. Phil will find it later when he’s thumbing through Dan’s photo library for whatever reason and it will make him laugh and squint his eyes and tip his head back and whine, “Why did you film that!?” but it will be secret code for “I love that you filmed that. I love that you see me be stupid and weird and just want to preserve it”. 

He puts his phone down and goes over to Phil, who is loading the tray and spilling granules of soap everywhere. Dan slips a hand over his shoulder, trails it down his back, and Phil hums again and turns his head for a kiss. Dan supplies it and then slips his arms around Phil and hugs him close.

It makes Phil grunt in a kind of protest and fumble to put the soap box down, but Dan doesn’t care. Phil huffs which means, “What’s gotten into you?” but he hugs back, resting his head on Dan’s shoulder and sinking into it.

In the mirror it’s Phil’s face Dan sees. His eyes are closed, a peaceful and trusting calm to his features. Dan looks into the lens and snaps a photo.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr link.](https://calvinahobbes.tumblr.com/post/618530660998643712)


End file.
